Flowercrowns&Starlight
by AliceKayMaybe
Summary: Meraki Marcie had always dreamed of getting out from under her parents thumb and seeing the world. At 11 years old she’s finally gathered the courage to do the one thing she’s always wanted to do and leaves the island.
1. Silent cold

Golden Snow Arc

**Silent cold**

* * *

Most of the time Marcie loved seeing new places, but sometimes new places were too similar to old ones for her liking. Reppla was one of those places. If she had to chose one word to describe this town, which she usually wouldn't since one word should never be enough to describe something, it would be quiet. This place was the definition of "Quiet, too quiet'. It was unsettling. As the sharp cold pierced through her dress and grey snow fell down she headed towards the first bar she saw since arriving. It looked just as desolated as the rest of the town. The old signboard was hanging from the wall like a drop of rain from a leaf of grass, ready to fall at any moment. If it weren't for the windless weather it would have been blown away a long time ago. She felt a vague sense of pity for it.

As she entered the bar she saw that the inside wasn't much better. Dusty glasses hung from a half- fallen bar glass rack, chairs lay on the ground, some missing a leg or two, years old wanted posters were spread all over the floor. It seemed like nobody even cared that this place existed. Setting up one of the few stools near the counter that didn't look like it would fall apart at the slightest touch she wondered what had happened here. She rang the cobweb covered bell that stood next to the beer tap, the surprisingly clear sound echoing eerily against the dull quiet of the room.

She heard a crash coming from the direction of the hallway behind the counter followed by quick but cautious footsteps. It was only seconds before the wary face of a middle-aged woman peeked from behind the door of the hallway. Black hair with a few greying streaks surrounded her face, her expression changing from caution to surprise.

"A guest?" She asked, seemingly to herself. It took a few seconds before she had collected herself and rushed to the counter.

"Hello little miss, I apologize for the state of this place, we haven't had any guests for a very long time now. But if you have the time to wait I can try to see what I can get you." With a hesitant yet hopeful smile on her face she waited for an answer.

And never one to disappoint people Marcie said yes to the offer. The lady's smile widened as she stumbled in a rush to get the ingredients necessary to whip up a decent meal for her client. Grabbing a few ingredients from the freezer she started cooking, it wasn't too long until it was done. The food in front of her didn't look all that great but she was hungry and the lady had put her best effort into it so she was content with what she had. The taste wasn't that bad either, despite none of the ingredients being fresh.

"I'm Marcie, I've been travelling and I found a log pose for this place some time. The man who sold it to me said that this place was a beautiful vacation spot. I don't mean to be rude but this doesn't look like a sightseeing island to me. This is Reppla isn't it?"

The lady gave her a sad smile. "My name is Ianna and yes, this is Reppla. But I'm afraid it hasn't been beautiful for a long time now. It used to be amazing. The snow used to be gold, it would decorate the pine trees and shimmer most beautifully in the sunlight. At dawn the whole city would appear gold in the light and the forest trees would glow like a million fireflies. But a few years ago our golden snow suddenly turned grey. Now we never have any visitors anymore. Until you that is.

Marcie hummed. "Nice to meet you Ianna-san. Golden snow does sound pretty fantastical. But why did it suddenly turn grey?"

"It was the evil spirit." She spat. "3 years ago the spirit that ruled over ashes cursed us. Now all our snow is nothing but ash. That was when everything went downhill. People stopped coming, shops went out of business, plants started to die off. And because we don't have the money or valuable objects we don't have a strong trading position with other islands. All of it, it's that things fault."

Clenching her fists she looked down.

A twinge of sympathy went through Marcie. She could only imagine what these people must have gone through. But still, an evil spirit. Interesting. It would surely be a good subject to write about. And who knew, maybe if she could find it..

She finished her water and put the glass down. "Thank you for the dinner Ianna-san. Would you happen to know how long it takes for the log pose to set here? And where I could find a place to sleep?"

"Ah, yes. The pose will be ready 1 week from now. I'm afraid you won't be able to buy another one here. All the poses are in the hands of the few traders we have here. As for a place to stay, the hotel went out of business a bit less than 3 years ago and the owner doesn't live here anymore. But if you'd like you can stay over at my place. My son moved out years ago and I never really changed anything, so you can use his room. I'll be sure to have it ready by tonight."

Thankful the blonde smiled at her. "Much appreciated." She chirped.

Handing the kind barkeep a couple of Beri with a handsome tip she pushed herself off her stool and headed towards the exit.

"Ah, Marcie-san. What will you do in the meantime? I wouldn't mind letting you stay at my place while I clean Bert's room."

The cheery girl just smiled and waved. "I'll just be exploring a bit Ianna-san. Don't worry, I won't be too long."

Now ignoring the strange atmosphere and the biting cold she headed towards the forest surrounding a mist-covered mountain. Unnatural quiet be damned, she had a mystery to solve. However dangerous this so called 'evil spirit' was, it would require more than something as boring as common sense to stop her from going after it. She had her dagger, her bag with writing utensils and a heart full of adventure. Nothing could stop her now.

Except maybe frostbite. But that was a later-problem.

* * *

So maybe going to explore a winter island in a short dress wasn't such a great idea. Luckily the upper half of her body was relatively covered. A short sleeveless black dress over a long sleeved white shirt with a blue wool zip hoodie. It was the lower half of her outfit that was the problem. Despite wearing wool tights and high brown lace up boots her legs were still freezing cold which was logical since it was indeed freezing. She really should have prepared better before coming to a winter island.

Despite all of this she kept on trudging forward, heading deeper and deeper into the forest. Everything around her was covered in a layer of grey snow. She supposed it was beautiful, in a grim, eerie way. The perfect environment for a horror story, maybe a horror themed fantasy story.

She never saw snow back home. The rainy jungle environment of the autumn island was never cold enough for it. A pity. She would've loved to have snowball fights with Via and-

Well, secret snowball fights. The adults would've never approved of course. Not that it ever stopped her. She didn't want to disappoint her parents but she did want to have fun so she grew to be good at keeping secrets. Via was even better at keeping secrets than she was. She always knew exactly what to say to get people to believe her, which was always very useful after coming back from yet another adventure in the jungle.

Marcie decided that she liked that jungle better than this forest. At least in the jungle it was never quiet, the birds were always singing. Sometimes it was hard to hear each other over the sound of the rain when it started pouring again. Unlike that jungle this forest was unnaturally quiet, just like the city. Not a single bird could be heard, there wasn't even the barest hint of a breeze. It seemed like the only animals that lived here were spiders and a couple of butterflies. Spider webs could be seen everywhere near the ground. An uncountable amount of tiny webs connected the bushes, rocks and tree trunks alike. Sometimes she could see a butterfly or two stuck inside one of them, she had to resist the urge to free them. Like it or not, freeing a butterfly would mean killing a spider. In this case it was better to let nature take its course.

The only sounds that could be heard were the ones she made. The snow that crunched under her feet with every step she took, her breaths that created small clouds every time she breathed out, the beating of her heart she felt drum inside her body. The silence of this place made her hyper-aware of everything she did. She could imagine why nobody would want to visit a place like this. Being completely aware of yourself, feeling like you're the only person on this earth. It easy to forget everything else. She could slowly feel herself falling into harmony with her surroundings. She could feel the snow clinging to her clothes and the cold biting away at her legs like an empty being, always hungry for more, it's teeth leaving red and purple patches on her skin. A non-existent presence surrounding her, wrapping it's arms around her and whispering promises of absolute nothing into her ear.

The snowfall started to worsen. While the snow had been lightly falling before it started to become so much that she could hardly see what was in front of her. The cold became colder until she could barely feel anything. As she fell down she cursed herself for being so stupid. She really should've prepared more.

The snow started to pile up on her body, covering her in a layer of grey.

As she slipped into the sweet lull of unconsciousness she thought she heard something. Something other than her own noise which was slowly quieting down into the calm of everything else.

For her own sake, she hoped it wasn't her imagination.

* * *

**Hello everyone! Thank you for reading this.**

**A couple of friends and I had this idea of forming our own One Piece crew, this story was inspired by that. Marcie is my character for that crew but since there are about 14 years before she actually joined the crew I decided to write about her life before that and post it as One Piece fanfiction.**

**Maybe I'll change a couple of things sometimes, maybe not. Life's uncertain and so is writing! Especially when you don't know where you're going with it yet..**

**I'll be honest, I haven't watched or read everything about One Piece and there's probably a lot I don't know. Maybe I'll make a few mistakes sometimes. Don't be afraid to point it out! (As long as you do it in a constructive way.)**

**I appreciate tips, people who give tips are the ones that help me make this story the best version I can.**

**Having said all of that. This is my first fanfiction and I'm not an experienced writer in any way. All of this is for fun.**

**So I hope you enjoy. Please leave a comment if you like!**

**~Alice**


	2. Frozen pasts

Golden Snow Arc

**Frozen pasts**

* * *

The first thing Marcie saw when she came to was grey and for a moment she thought she was still in the forest. It was too warm to be the forest though, slowly she realized that what she was seeing wasn't the sky but a grey flaking ceiling. The many loose flakes of paint reminded her of snow hanging from tree branches, although not quite as beautiful.

As she looked up she tried to remember what had happened. The last she remembered was cold, cold and a lot of grey. That wasn't everything was it? No, there was something else. Something important. What was it again?

A single flake of grey fell on her nose, she tried to blow it away. As she watched it flutter she remembered. There had been a light hadn't there? That explained why she was here, under the warm covers of a bed instead of outside under the snow. Someone had found her.

Despite hearing the sound of a door opening she didn't try to get up, too tired to do anything at the moment. Blinking at the ceiling she heard light footsteps come closer. A familiar voice began speaking in a soft tone.

"You're awake, I'm glad. Considering how you arrived here I was afraid you would stay asleep longer. It's a good thing you're recovering this quickly."

The tired girl tried to speak but she didn't have the energy to form any words, all she could manage was a soft groan.

Delicate fingers carefully closed her eyes. Followed by a soft, wet object being put on her forehead.

"Don't try to speak just yet, just sleep and get some rest. You'll be better in no time, save your energy for that."

happy to comply Marcie started to doze off again. Sinking into the arms of sleep once again she thought she heard a soft humming coming from the direction of the woman. It was a lovely lullaby.

It reminded her

a bit

of

.

.

Rion...

* * *

"_Oi, Marcie! Are you even listening?"_

_The young voice of a boy resounded through the forest. Followed by the high voice of an even younger girl._

"_Yeah, ruby in with black tourmaline is good right?"_

_The boy sighed._

"_Yes, and why is it good?"_

_Looking at her hands the pigtailed girl thought for a second._

"_Because. It helps with energy?" She answered, unsure of herself. _

"_True. But it's more complicated than that. Like I said. Ruby helps with recharging energy, black tourmaline protects you from negative energy and converts it into positive energy. If the two are used as combination the black tourmaline enhances the positive effects of the ruby creating a more powerful positive energy. This can be useful when casting spells that use positive energy, it'll enhance the spells power a lot. Do you follow me?"_

_An absentminded nod was the only answer._

"_Marcie!"_

_She shot him an apologetic look._

"_Sorry. But we've been learning for hours!"_

"_20 minutes now." The calm voice of another girl called out from a tree branch above the bored girl's head._

"_Fine. 20 minutes. But it feels like hours! Can't we go explore now?"_

_The boy sighed again._

"_Alright, Star. But not too long okay? If you don't want your parents to be suspicious you need to know at least 2 chapters relatively well before we go back."_

_Cheering loudly the blonde sprung up and ran off towards a particularly big tree deeper into the jungle. The sound of a book snapping shut came from the spot where she just sat. _

"_This is why I'm glad we're doing this so deep into the forest. If anyone heard us being this loud near the city we would be in so much trouble."_

_A sly smile spread across the face of the dark haired girl in the tree. She knew that despite the many complaints the redhead loved Marcie more than anything. They both did. On an island like this their little Star was a light in the middle of a lot of darkness, bright despite all odds. _

_Via didn't want to imagine a life without her, without either of them. They were her Sun and her Star. The only two people in her little corner of the world capable of shining their light on her and making her shine with them, although nowhere near as bright. With them she was content, happy even. they loved her and she loved them in return, and wasn't that a gift? Wasn't that the greatest miracle of all? That such people could exist in even the worst of circumstances?_

_._

**She would have done anything to keep it that way.**

* * *

The second time Marcie woke up the ceiling was once again the first thing she saw, unlike the first time however, she was conscious enough to realize it was not snow. Laying on the bed she tried to sit up and observe her surroundings. She was in a small room, a large bookcase loomed over her from the other side of the room, next to a slightly smaller wardrobe. On her left she saw a crowded nightstand packed with papers, a bottle, a lamp and a book. The book seemed interesting: Dhasim and the forgotten kingdom. The papers appeared to be sketches of various colourful creatures she had never seen before. Slightly to the left of the nightstand stood a desk, that too was full of papers. There were a lot of colourful pencils as well. Unlike the pencils that seemed to be clean and well taken care of, the chair was old and one of the legs had been replaced with a piece of wood from a different tree.

The bed she was on stood just next to a small and foggy window, a few of the cracks in the glass had been clumsily fixed. Wiping it she looked outside and noticed she was on the ground floor. The mist was gone and everything within sight was covered in a layer of grey snow.

Hearing someone open the door she turned her head, it was Ianna. As soon as the kind-hearted woman noticed she was up she smiled.

"Ah, hello Marcie-san. How are you feeling?"

Trying to speak she was relieved that her throat wasn't as dry as before.

"I'm, better. Thank you. Ianna-san."

The sentence was quickly followed by a dry cough, covering her mouth with her hand she felt how dry her skin was. She felt like it would be flaking if it was any worse, like the ceiling.

The greying woman hasted to her side her hands touching her forehead in a practiced movement.

"It would be better if you didn't speak yet. The snow and the cold here are different than on other islands. People who aren't used to it dry out much quicker than usual. Not to worry though, you should recover more faster too. Just a minute, I'll get you some tea."

In a swirl of dark green robes she left the room.

Marcie felt guilty. If it wasn't for her Ianna-san could be spending her time doing something other than taking care of a stubborn girl stupid enough to venture into a forest she didn't know wearing clothes not suited for weather she wasn't prepared for.

Before she knew it Ianna returned carrying an antique kettle in one hand and a cup in the other. Handing Marcie the hot drink she smiled at her.

"I'm glad you're alright. After you left I realized that you wouldn't be used to the weather here, you weren't properly clothed for it either. I was going to follow you but Trevor-san, a neighbour of mine, saw me leave and offered to find you instead. A good thing, he knows the woods much better than I do. He used to work up the mountain you see."

The blonde girl looked up from her drink for a moment. Her throat feeling much better now that she had drunk something.

"I will have-" a cough broke up her statement. "I will have to, thank him. If it wasn't for you two my journey would have been cut very short."

Smiling gratefully at one of the two people who had saved her life she continued with her drink.

"Ah, it was no problem."

Shyly wiping her hands on her robes she started to walk towards the door.

"Call me if you need anything at all alright? I'll be in the room on the opposite of this one. Can't miss it. Dinner will be ready in an hour, I'll come see you by then."

Having said that she continued to walk out, closing the door behind her. Marcie was alone with her thoughts once again.

Her journey into the woods may have been dangerous but it wasn't for nothing. It had been beautiful. Every time she closed her eyes she could see it. The ashen snow, the tall pine trees, the unknown trees with curling branches, the cobwebs spreading across the ground resembling an ill-fitting puzzle of nature. She could just go on about it. If she were to write about it she was sure she could fill pages with descriptions of every detail of every little thing inside that forest, from the butterflies in the cobwebs to the snowflakes in the treetops. It was perfect.

Her hand was itching for her notebook at the thought of it all. Sadly her bag was out of reach and she didn't feel quite well enough to get up yet. Soon. As soon as she could she would write it all down, as much as she could.

She had to visit that place again. She wanted to see it again, she wanted to see more of it. She wanted to know what she would find deeper inside that forest, what horrors or what dreams might lie ahead. Not to mention the evil spirit Ianna-san had told her about.

When it came to writing she was an empty pit. No matter how much she saw, experienced or heard about, nothing would ever be enough. She wanted more. She _needed_ more. As guilty as she felt about burdening the kind woman with her care she couldn't regret leaving for that place.

It was beautiful, it was horrifying, it was inspiring and the possibilities were endless.

Tomorrow she would go again, better prepared this time. Hopefully she could get some good clothes here. Probably. While the shops seemed to be out of business for the most part the people had to have some place where they could buy their clothes. She would need a lantern as well. In the mist she would need the light in order to see anything. Food would be necessary too if she wanted to stay in the forest for a bigger part of the day. She had enough paper and writing utensils but it couldn't hurt to get more, maybe another notebook? A couple of spare pens?

And if there really was an evil spirit in the woods she would have to make something to protect herself from that, maybe cast a protection spell just in case. She had a ruby and a couple of black tourmalines, in combination with some powdered sandalwood and a bay leaf with a protection sigil it could make a good protection spell with a hint of luck.

Back on Tuion everyone knew about magic, green magic was the most common kind but there were many others too. Everyone practiced it there. Outside of the island it was different, most people believed there was no such thing. Personally Marcie believed magic was real because wasn't magic just another word for the unexplained?

Maybe there was no definite explanation for why black tourmaline was a good defence against negative energies, maybe there was no actual proof. But as long as she believed it was so it would work. The universe and the human mind were strange like that. They may be more connected than people would think.

Watching the moon go down from her window she wondered what Via was doing. Was she alright? She was worried she might be lonely. Maybe she was bored or sad. She always seemed so sad if she thought no one was around. The only times Marcie had seen her smile was when either she or Rion was with her.

People might say that the reason for this was because of course she would only see her smile if she was with her, because those were the times when she saw her. But Marcie saw Via in the city with her mother many times even if Via didn't see her, never once did she see her smile during those times. Not in school with any of her classmates either. The blonde wasn't stupid, she knew, if Via wasn't with Marcie or Rion she was alone.

Her oldest friend was the strongest person she knew, both physically and mentally, but that didn't mean there was no need to be worried. Even the strongest people could break after all.

She knew better than most.

She'd seen it happen.


	3. City in the Dark

Golden Snow Arc

**City in the Dark**

* * *

"Are you really sure about this?"

Yes, she was sure. Ianna was lovely and Marcie owed her a lot but she worried too much.

"Yes Ianna-san. Thank you for everything. I really appreciate you helping me get everything I need for this trip. There's no need to worry, I'm as sure as I can be and this time I'm much better prepared."

Once more she checked her clothes, she didn't want to end up in bed for a whole day again.

A long dark blue winter coat, a comfortable black sweater, grey ski pants with thighs underneath for extra warmth, short winter boots with wool and a pair of warm gloves. Her long unruly yellow-blonde hair was loosely falling down her shoulders, a blue beanie tightly on her head. In one of the pockets of her jacket she had a pair of white rimmed sunglasses.

She had never worn so many thick clothes at ones, it was restricting and she hated it. Still these clothes would protect her from the cold so it was worth it. Didn't mean she had to like it though. She was used to short dresses and warmer weather. The island was beautiful but the weather was annoying. On the other hand, even if it was a negative experience it was a new negative experience.

Her shoulder bag was packed with necessities. A couple packages of nuts, dried fruits, granola bars and a bottle of heather tea were all she had as sustenance. It would have to do, there wasn't much else she could take with her. Heather tea wasn't her favourite but she like it well enough. What she wouldn't do for some passion flower tea.

An old flower patterned leather journal and a new small bright red notebook were carefully put in her bag. One of them was filled with small stories, descriptions and poems filling her with a sense of nostalgia. The other was still blank. Her blue ink fountain pen lay in its box in a separate pocket. The thick gloves would make it harder to handle but she'd manage.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder she grabbed the rusty electric lantern with her left hand. At the moment it didn't seem to be too misty outside but she knew from experience that it would be worse in the woods. On top of that she planned on climbing up the mountain. She would need all the light she could get.

Walking outside into the grey powdered streets she heard Ianna's voice call out to her.

"Be careful!"

The stubborn adventurer turned her head.

"I will. See you at dinner."

Continuing her march down the streets towards the forest she could feel the cold air on her face. As she walked she created a trail of footsteps, hers were currently the only ones. Not a lot of people came outside in general let alone at 7 in the morning. While she loved to sleep she didn't mind getting up early. It just meant that she had more time to do the things she wanted.

* * *

The sharp smell of cold and the heavy scent of pine trees came together in a strange duet as she entered the forest. Stepping on a frozen twig a snap resounded through the forest.

Heading onwards deeper into the woods she observed her surroundings once again. It was just as beautiful as before, more so even. Unburdened by the cold this time she could take the time to stop and watch whenever she wanted. Halting her movement underneath a large curling tree whose name she didn't know she opened her bag and took out her pen and the newly acquired notebook. The scent of new paper mixed nicely with the surroundings.

Sitting down on a frost covered rock she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, not an easy task. It was cold and the surface had some irregular points.

After finally managing to get into a relatively comfortable position she opened the notebook. Its red colour stood out against the grey snow, a sharp contrast of bright red and soft grey.

Picking up her pen from its colourfully decorated box she started to write.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity she had finally reached the mountain. The grey colours of the rocks and snow were so similar it was impossible to tell which was which. Sharp spikes of stone surrounded a narrow road potentially leading to the top.

Unlike the rest of the surroundings the road wasn't grey. It was light green covered in moss. All shades of green she'd seen so far were far darker than this one. The pine tree's needles were more of a black shade with a green tint. Most of the moss that grew between cracks in the rocks was a dark green colour with a hint of blue if you saw it in the right light. Unlike both of them the green of the path was lighter and reminded her of ditches covered with duckweed under a spring sun. A sunny path surrounded by a world of winter.

Stepping on the soft moss she continued her journey towards the top.

The farther she got the thinner the air got and the less thick the mist became until eventually it was gone. Finally she could see the sun again. Unclouded the rays of light fell on the earth creating short shadows, basking the grey snow light. While the snow had appeared grey, dull and eerie before the light created seemed to make the snow shine silver.

Quickly she put on her sunglasses. As beautiful as it was she didn't want to be blinded. Looking up at an even higher part of the mountain she thought she saw the shape of a town. That would definitely be something worth investigating.

Resuming her climb she followed the moss covered path heading towards the possible town.

As she got closer she saw that it was indeed a town, or at least, something that had once been a town. The ruins of old buildings became clearer the closer she got and she saw that the town was actually a city. Tall rectangular buildings fantastically covered in vines and colourful flowers rose from the ground. Half caved in houses were supported by the same unknown trees from the forest, their curling branches hugging the stone walls in a tight embrace. Bent lampposts reminded her of old men and women.

Finally entering through the city's rusted gate she thought she heard someone sing.

Walking towards the sound of the clear voice she followed it to a large plaza. Stopping on the edge of the near empty piece of city she looked from behind the corner of a relatively intact building. What she saw surprised her.

Unlike the rest of the city the plaza wasn't covered in snow. In fact, the entire ground was clear of it. The only snow she could see was on the lampposts and the high trees. The fountain in the centre of it all was completely frozen. Long icicles resembling a bride's veil fell from the edges like the water had frozen over while falling. But the place itself wasn't the most surprising thing there.

In the middle of it all, on the edge of the frozen fountain, sat a boy. He couldn't have been older than 9, younger than her in any case. He was singing a beautiful song that sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before?

She decided that it was time to stop hiding and called out to him.

"Hello?"

The boy heard her and the singing came to a sudden stop. Sitting still for a moment he looked like one of the statues she'd seen just a few street earlier. However, as soon as she took her first step towards him he broke out in a sprint and ran in the opposite direction.

"Wait!"

She ran after him. Usually she was pretty fats but usually she didn't run in clothes like what she was wearing at the moment. The layers and uncomfortable clothing slowed her down considerably and before she knew it she lost him.

Marcie didn't give up. She stopped running and started to walk around the city. It was big but how far could he have gotten?

* * *

The answer, of course, was very far. Either that or he was great at hiding. Possibly both.

She had never been in this city before while he could've been here for who knows how long. He had the home-advantage and it was obvious. Marcie had been walking around for a long time, five hours if she had estimated the time correctly. The sun was far lower in the sky than before. The shadows that were short when she had first arrived had grown long.

The dark trails transformed the appearance of the fairytale-like city into a place of horror. It felt like an Abyssal creature from one of her mother's stories could jump from behind a wall or materialize from a shadow any minute. She liked to think of herself as adventurous and she might not be the smartest when it came to things she shouldn't do, but even she knew not to play around when it came to the Eldritch.

Disappointed that she hadn't found the boy and jumpy because of the dark impressions she was getting she left the strange city and headed back towards the town.

As she reached the woods she heard a sound originating from the city she'd just left.

It was the sound of bells.

She supposed it came from the old bell tower near the plaza. Apparently they still worked. Weird, she thought they would be too old to use.

The shivers she was getting weren't caused by the cold. No, this was different. This was the kind of feeling most people had forgotten. The feeling most people outside of Tuion weren't even aware existed. It was the dark and chilling warning that your body gave you in the presence of something wrong.

Sometimes things that existed weren't meant to exist. There were a lot of people of the Outside who said that something or someone wasn't meant to exist in certain situations, they didn't understand. If something truly wasn't meant to exist it could be felt. Things that weren't meant to be, things that once were but weren't anymore yet still remained. Things like that existed all over the world, clinging to reality like tar that can't be washed away.

The city was beautiful during the day, so what had happened? What could cause such a change? She had never heard of things that could change from true to wrong like that.

Change was something she generally accepted. Change was inevitable, change like that however? That was just. Well, wrong.

Nervously she cast the silhouette of the city –Was it a city? Or was it something that had once been a city?- one last glance before she hurried into the forest without looking back again.

She rushed past the trees, jumping over rocks and fallen down branches, miraculously without falling down.

Finally she reached the edge of the forest. Skidding to a stop before the door of Ianna's home she knocked, completely out of breath.

A worried Ianna opened the door. Marcie felt like the dark-haired woman was always in a constant state of worry, she had never seen her completely calm.

"Come in."

That was all the invitation she needed. Stepping inside the hallway she walked towards the living room. Sitting down on the couch she tried to catch her breath.

When she felt like she could breath normally again she spoke to Ianna who sat in front of her with her hands folded in her lap.

"Do you know about the boy in the city?"

That was the one thing she cared about most. The city was dangerous at night, why would a boy be there? She didn't know if he was still there but she assumed since he'd been there when she arrived and she never did find him. And someone must have been the one to ring the bells. She hadn't seen anyone else.

Ianna became even paler, which was quite the achievement considering how white her skin was.

"You saw it?"

"It? Don't you mean him?"

Marcie frowned. She didn't like it when people talked about others like they weren't people. It brought up bad memories.

"That thing is no person. I told you about the evil spirit. I told you it was dangerous."

That boy was the evil spirit she had been told about? Sure, it seemed kind of strange that he was alone in a city like that but he didn't give her the feeling of an evil spirit. Especially not the evil part. He was so young.

"He's just a kid though," she said to Ianna, "not an evil spirit."

Ianna frowned.

"I didn't know it looked like that either. Everything I know I was told by the miners who used to work on the mountain. But they seemed very convinced. I wasn't sure about the idea of evil spirits at first either but how else would you explain the snow? It may look like a child but I trust Trevor and the others, if they say it's an evil spirit, it's an evil spirit."

So the miners were the ones who told everyone the story of the evil spirit. The question was if the story was true or not, and if it wasn't true, why would they have lied? Or maybe they were just convinced it was true while it wasn't? She supposed it was worth investigating. But that could come later.

First she would go to bed, it had been a long day. She needed to rest.

And after that? Well.

She had an evil spirit to find.


	4. Silver Friendships

Golden Snow Arc

**Silver Friendships**

* * *

Once again Marcie was walking through the forest. This time, however, she didn't take make any pauses on her way to the top. She had a goal in mind and no time for breaks. If she wanted to find the boy and explore the ruins she would have to do it while it was still light outside, she wasn't going to take her chances and walk around that place at night.

Walking in a fast pace she arrived at the city much earlier than yesterday. She took a good look around before she entered the city, still cautious of her surroundings she started to explore. It wasn't long before she found him.

He was sitting on the ground with his back to a caved in wall, unlike the first time she saw him he wasn't humming. His eyes were close. Maybe he was sleeping?

She tiptoed her way towards him, still he didn't notice. Eventually she stopped in front of him and crouched down.

"Hi."

His eyes snapped open. Now that she was so close in front of him she could see them clearly. They were a beautiful cherry red colour, she liked it. What she didn't like was the emotion she saw in his eyes. He was scared.

"I'm Marcie."

Trying not to come off as too excited she smiled and leaned back a little.

The black haired boy tried to back away but the wall was still behind him, causing him to hit his head on a protruding stone. He yelped and brought his hands to his head. Avoiding the girl's eyes he curled up in a ball with his head between his knees, shaking.

In the short time that this happened Marcie felt multiple emotions pass through her; disbelief that anyone could think this kid was and evil spirit, sympathy for how he seemed to have hit his head quite painfully, worry about his wellbeing and most prominently, guilt for how she was the one that caused this.

"Are you okay?"she asked.

A pretty stupid question. Judging from the shaking and the red she saw on his hands he was obviously not okay.

She grabbed a white lavender embroidered handkerchief from her bag and leaned closer to him. Carefully she managed to wedge it between his fingers. Pulling her away back she pushed herself back again and waited for him to take hold of the piece of cloth.

Once he did he hesitantly looked up. Seeing how she wasn't as close as before he relaxed slightly and began put the handkerchief against the wound on his head.

"Sorry," the girl apologized, "I just really want to talk to you, with you, I mean. And since you ran away yesterday I figured it would be better to be close by in case you tried to leave again." Nervously she shifted and leaned back on her hands.

"I can't say I'm sorry about cornering you like this but I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."

The boy kept looking at her but he still didn't say a thing. He wasn't shaking as badly as before so she supposed that was an improvement, he still didn't look comfortable though."

Not sure what to do she held out her hand.

"So, like I said, I'm Marcie. Nice to meet you."

A couple of seconds passed neither of them moving. Her hand still in the air she waited for him to take it. After more time passed it started to hurt. Just when she was about to pull back he took it.

"Hellan."

It was so soft she almost missed it. Nevertheless, he said something so she considered it a win.

Her smile widened.

"That's a nice name."

Changing her position once again she sat cross-legged on the ground.

"So," she began.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. Was he really the evil spirit kept talking about? What was this place? Why was he here? She was burning with curiosity but she reigned herself in. He was clearly nervous enough already, he didn't need the stress that would surely come with all of her questions.

"What's your favourite colour?"

His eyes widened in surprise. Incredulously pointed to himself.

Copying him she pointed her index finger at him too.

"Yep, you. What's your favourite colour?"

He seemed to mull it over for a moment.

"Green," he answered seeming unsure of himself. He nodded and repeated "Green."

If possible her smile widened even more, her cheeks started to hurt. He was just so cute. Like a puppy!

"Yeah, green is a nice colour. I like yellow better though. Like sunflowers, dandelions, sunshine and more. It's the colour of happiness, creativity, inspiration and motivation. And it's the colour of my hair see?" She twirled a loose strand around her finger.

As she spoke the boy who was apparently called Hellan started to relax. The shaking had stopped completely and she thought she even saw a small smile on his face.

"But green is nice too. The moss here is all kinds of green. Olive, emerald, lime, basil. I think I even saw some mint coloured parts too. It's pretty amazing, I don't think I've ever seen so many shades of green in one place."

Passionately she continued her rant on the colour. After that she began talking about the weather, her favourite flowers and more seemingly irrelevant subjects. Sometimes she would ask Hellan about his opinion on something before continuing.

So what if she didn't find out more about the city and the mysteries of the island? She was making a new friend and that was even better than getting her answers.

* * *

As time passed they grew closer and Marcie realized something. Hellan wasn't just cute, he was absolutely adorable. It was obvious he wasn't used to social interaction. He stuttered a lot and he spoke in a soft voice. Sometimes when she was loud he flinched so she tried to keep her volume down, which was easier said than done since she had the bad habit of talking loudly when speaking about subjects or people she liked. And she did like Hellan.

He was nice, smart, cute and he didn't mind her talking. His favourite colour was green, his favourite food was reindeer and his favourite flower was dwarf fireweed. He liked reading in the old library and singing. He arrived on the island when he was just 2 years old and when his parents returned to their home country they left him behind, he didn't remember them.

Marcie learned more about him and he learned more about her. She told him that her favourite kind of sweets were dulce de leche sandwich cookies, her favourite book was 'A Million Wandering Clouds' and that she wanted to write a story that would inspire people. He seemed to find that last fact something to be admired.

During the hole time she was talking he didn't stop paying attention even once. That was new, usually people grew bored pretty quickly. It was nice having someone to listen to her.

They just sat there, talking and listening for hours. As much as Marcie would have loved to stay up all night with her newfound friend she had to leave. She couldn't stay in the city.

"It's about time for me to go," she announced sadly.

Hellan looked disappointed.

"Already?"

"Well. It's about to get dark. But I promise I'll be back tomorrow."

His eyes widened.

"It's about to get dark?"

His voice sounded panicked. He jumped up from his position and looked up with a nervous look on his face.

"You should leave."

So he was aware that there was something wrong with the city at night. Strange that he would still visit it then. Most people wouldn't.

"I was about to. What about you? Where will you stay?"

She knew that this was a question that bordered on the territory of things she shouldn't discuss. During the whole day they had avoided topics concerning the city and what he was doing here.

"I'll be fine. I've been living here for a long time now. They won't hurt me but I don't want to take any chances with you, you're nice."

She knew she shouldn't ask but she couldn't resist.

"They?"

Just one word. One word that caused Hellan to freeze up, pun intended.

"You should go," he repeated.

She knew that the topic was over. She wouldn't ask him about it again, not today at least.

Before he knew what happened she hugged him.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

She let go and ran towards the gate.

"Bye!"she called out to the shocked boy. He looked like he'd never had a hug before and who knows, maybe he hadn't. She made a note to herself to hug him again the next time she saw him. She knew how important affection was especially when you didn't get a lot of it. On top of that he lived alone in a strange city on the mountain, he probably didn't see a lot of people in general.

She tripped down the mountain many times on her way back. She was tired and that always seemed to enhance her clumsiness by a lot. Fortunately she didn't get any injuries worse than a couple of scratches and bruises, she was used to those by now.

* * *

Dinner was different this time, Ianna had invited a guest.

Trevor was nice enough. Kind of rough but the old man seemed to have a soft spot for Ianna. The former miner didn't talk a lot during the meal, nor did Ianna. One because he didn't care for small talk and the other because she didn't like to bother people.

In the end it was up to Marcie to fill the silence. She didn't talk about Hellan since the people of this town didn't like him but she did talk about how she had come to visit Reppla.

"So I was looking for a new telescope because that shark I told you about ate mine when I saw the log pose. It was just sitting there under a pile of dust next to a book called 'Noland the Liar', a great story by the way I'm so glad I bought it. The ending is so sad though. Even if he did lie which we can't even be sure about he didn't deserve to- wait. I don't know if you've read it and I don't want to spoil the ending in case you haven't. Where was I again?

Right. So there I found the log pose and the shop owner told me it lead to a beautiful vacation island. I don't think he knew about how this place has changed. The way he described it the place sounded amazing so I decided to buy it. It took a while before I actually used it though. I was going to use it directly after leaving the island but then I saw two people asking a captain if he could take them to Water 7. When he said he had no room I offered to take them there and ended up postponing my trip here until way later."

Neither Trevor nor Ianna seemed to mind her talking. Ianna listened to her story like it was the most interesting thing she had ever heard and while Trevor didn't look like he was paying attention she saw the calm look on his face which gave her the impression that he did in fact enjoy the sound of someone talking.

The atmosphere was calm and relaxed. She wished dinners back on the island would've been like this, maybe she would have stayed in contact with her mother and Fabrice then.

Or maybe not. The Council of the Chosen had forbidden any form of contact with the Outside. The rules were so strict that she couldn't even send Via a letter to let her know was still alive.

She wished Via would have gone with her, even so she understood why her Other had stayed. Via loved knowledge. The island had centuries of knowledge on green magic. Before she left the island the ambitious girl wanted to learn as much as she could.

Via had known that Marcie wanted to leave as soon as possible and told her not to wait for her, she would follow in a couple years.

Still the blonde missed her. Things just weren't the same without Via to share things with, to scold her for her rashness and to look out for her when things were tough. She had written multiple short stories about the feeling of homesickness she got when thinking about her friend.

Tuion was never her home and while she did care about her mother and Fabrice they didn't care enough about her to be her home. If she ever had a home there it was Via.

The one who always cared about her. Not her grades, not her appearance, not her social influence. Her. Via was the one who made her feel like a person. If it wasn't for her she wouldn't be the person she was today.

She read somewhere that the people in your life are the ones that shape you into the person you are. She liked to believe it was a combination of the people around her and who she was born as. She hoped that she took after her father despite never having met the man. She hoped he was a good person, she hoped to meet him one day.

A futile wish, she knew, considering how little she knew about him. She knew that she had his hair colour and probably his smile. Maybe if someone who knew him saw her they would see him in her mannerisms.

Marcie wished she could find out one day.

An unrealistic wish she allowed herself to make.


End file.
